1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tube counting, collating and packaging apparatus and in particular relates to apparatus for handling cigarette tubes with filter tips.
Such empty cigarette tubes with filter tip are sold, frequently in boxes containing about 200 tubes, ready for filling with the tobacco of a smoker's choice.
A major difficulty in handling articles of this nature is that they are very much heavier at one end than at the other. As a result, their center of gravity is radically displaced to the heavier end making "automatic" handling of the article difficult. In addition, the form of the hollow paper tubes makes them susceptible to being crushed when automatically handled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A present known apparatus delivers an approximate number of cigarette tubes for manual placement into a box. Cigarette tubes complete with filter tip are delivered continuously to a rotating fluted drum which drops two rows of tubes onto a track along which the tubes pass. After a predetermined number of revolutions of the fluted drum, a gate drops across each track and the desired number of tubes which have passed the gate are manually collected and placed into a box for shipment. In order that at least the desired number of tubes may be collected, the number of revolutions of the fluted drum is such that the gate only drops after more than the desired number of tubes have been delivered. Thus, a slightly irregular flow of tubes to the fluted drum does not mean that less than the minimum desired number of tubes are boxed. The apparatus obviously has the disadvantage that a discreet number of tubes are not delivered for boxing, a reasonably accurate number of tubes for boxing only being delivered if an operator observes the flow of tubes to the fluted drum. Furthermore, the tubes must then be manually boxed.